Installation Time

Ile Jeudi
Bob and Lin Griffiths
Sat 8 Oct 2011 15:35
Wednesday 5 to Saturday 8 October 2011
 
 
Wednesday was just a wash and tidy up the boat day and we stayed on Sopromar's pontoon.  Lin cleaned the upholstery and we generally reclaimed the boat from the work site it had been - in readiness to start the next installations.  On Thursday we motored out to sea for an hour or so to test the generator and engine and then returned to check into Lagos Marina.  The gen and engine water pumps don't leak any longer so that's a result.  The engine isn't running excessively hot either - we no longer have white exhaust smoke.  Another result. 
 
But the cooling water level seems to be dropping a bit so that will need further monitoring.  One explanation is that the heat exchanger gasket is not seated correctly which could allow fresh water to escape through to the sea water side.    
 
When we were in the yard I was concerned that the new sleeve on the rudder bearing was too tight on the rudder stock.  The material used (a form of 'Delrin') is one that absorbs much less water than, say, nylon, but still absorbs some.  This causes the bearing to swell and on some Bavarias they then bind to the rudder stock.  For this reason there has to be a tiny tolerance around the stock.  Sopromar were convinced it was fine and I have decided to go with their experience.  Nevertheless it's another area I want to test before we set off for the Canaries and on this initial run the steering was too tight.  We will see how it evolves with water lubrication and some use.
 
We finally fitted the Scanstrut to the stern of the boat on Saturday.  This will support the antennas dome for our satellite phone.  We have seen many which are not quite vertical, either in the fore and aft plane or from side to side.  This is difficult to achieve because a floating boat constantly moves and the trim changes as you fill up with water and diesel but we certainly didn't want it to look obviously out.  We are pleased with the end result even if the constant measuring and resetting over two days was somewhat trying for Lin.  (This will be no surprise to those who know her well!).
 
We fitted the deck gland to take the antenna cable and ran the cable as far as we could in readiness for John Holloway on Monday.